U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday paid a solidarity visit to the Christian village of Taybeh in Samaria, which has allegedly been the target of arson in recent weeks.
“What has happened here is an absolute travesty,” the U.S. envoy said in remarks published by the embassy following the official visit.
“It’s my desire to do everything possible to let the people of this peaceful village know that we will certainly insist that those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh—or anywhere—be found and be prosecuted,” Huckabee continued.
Referring to the alleged July 7 arson near the ruins of the Byzantine-era Church of Saint George, Huckabee said that “people need to pay a price for doing something that destroys that which belongs, not just to other people, but that which belongs to God,” calling the act “a sacrilege.”
“I myself am a Christian, but I would never desecrate a mosque or a synagogue,” the ambassador declared. “Those who would worship in a synagogue should never desecrate a church or a mosque, and those who worship in a mosque should never desecrate a church or a synagogue.”
According to him, local residents “just want to live their lives in peace, be able to go to their own land, be able to go to their place of worship.”
Taybeh, near Ramallah, has become the last remaining Christian village in Judea and Samaria due to Islamic harassment after the Palestinian Authority was given control over most Arab localities in the region.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem last week claimed it had witnessed an “intensifying trend of systemic and targeted attacks” against Taybeh’s population, allegedly by “radical Israelis from nearby settlements.”
The heads of the top Christian denominations in the holy land in a joint statement called “for these radicals to be held accountable by the Israeli authorities, who facilitate and enable their presence around Taybeh.”
Taybeh’s residents have said they called the Israel Police emergency hotline twice during July 7 the arson attack and were told that officers were on their way, but that no forces showed up at the scene.
“We call for an immediate and transparent investigation into why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished,” the statement from the church leaders said.
Meanwhile, multiple Israeli media reports have cast doubt on the allegations. Some reports suggested that a nearby fire may have been caused by members of the local Arab community.
Last week, Huckabee called for an urgent Israeli investigation after a Palestinian with U.S. citizenship was killed during a violent riot that broke out after rocks were thrown at Jewish civilians near Sinjil in southern Samaria.
“There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act,” said Huckabee of the death of Sayafollah Musallet, 20, adding that he had asked Israel to “aggressively” probe what he described as “murder.”
The Israel Defense Forces recorded 663 instances of violence by Jews against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria last year, a 34% decrease compared to 2023.
Meanwhile, Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to data published by Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria).
Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.
